


Saving Grace

by Ttttrickster (iscatterthemintimeandspace)



Series: Lessons in Healing [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: ALL THE SPOILERS, Angst, Blood, Coda, Coda for 13X13, Don't say I didn't warn you, Fix-It, Hurt/Comfort, It hurts guys, M/M, Medical, Medical Procedures, Pain, Rescue, SPOILERS FOR 13X13, Spoilers, Stitches, it hurts so much, sabriel if you squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-11
Updated: 2018-02-11
Packaged: 2019-03-16 19:24:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13642881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iscatterthemintimeandspace/pseuds/Ttttrickster
Summary: Gabriel had not said a word since they rescued him.





	Saving Grace

Gabriel had not said a word since they rescued him. 

 

From the moment that Ketch had let slip that Asmodeus had Gabriel held captive in Hell,  Castiel had worked like a man possessed. Dean pretended it was no big deal, that they would get Gabriel back and get out, but Sam wasn’t so sure. The news had caught him completely unaware and he didn’t like it. 

 

Gabriel was dead, had been dead, he had been so sure of it. He’d seen the burnt wings on the floor of the Elysian Fields Motel himself, and they’d chalked up Cas’ vision of him as another trick of Metatron’s used to manipulate them into doing what he wanted. 

 

But if Ketch was to be believed, Gabriel was alive, and rotting in Hell’s dungeon. Sam didn’t want to imagine what Gabriel had been through, and he didn’t have too. He’d been a prisoner in Hell too, still had nightmares from the torture he’d suffered, and Gabriel was still trapped. 

 

Sam quickly joined Cas in his mission, Gabriel had died for them after all, had tried to help them in his own twisted way, and Sam wouldn’t leave his worst enemy to the fate that Gabriel was currently living. 

 

When they got to him, finally got to him, it was so much worse than what Sam had imagined. Dean was breathing hard behind him, as Sam leaned in to peer into the cell. He could smell the blood and rot and decay through the small window. 

 

“Gabriel?” 

 

The man in the cell put his head up and a gasp caught painfully in Sam’s throat. His face was covered in blood, his golden eyes were hazy and unfocused, and his lips were sewn shut. It didn’t take him long to remember his history, of Loki, whose lips had been sewn shut because of his silver tongue. In the most gruesome way Sam could imagine, history had repeated itself. 

 

Sam stepped back and let Cas pop the lock on the cell. Cas was Gabriel’s brother; Sam knew that he would want to be the first one Dean saw if it was his brother like this. But Gabriel didn’t look up, even when Cas touched his shoulder. He stared straight ahead, like he was looking through him. Time was short, and Sam stepped in the moment it became clear Gabriel wasn’t going to move on his own. He put an arm under Gabriel’s and eased him to his feet. 

 

“It’s gunna be okay,” Sam whispered as they hurried back out the way they came. It was only a matter of time before more demons came for them, and he was sure Asmodeus would be on their tail when he figured out they stole his prize goose. “We got you, it’s alright.” 

 

Gabriel’s only response was to grasp a hand to Sam’s shirt. 

 

It was only when they were safely back in the bunker that they began to treat Gabriel’s wounds. He cowered any time Cas put his hands on him to heal him, so they decided that as long as nothing was dire, they weren’t going to traumatize him any further. 

 

Sam tried to walk away to get some supplies, but Gabriel had a death grip on his flannel. He hadn’t made any noise at all on their way back to the Bunker, but his grip on Sam had only gotten tighter. 

 

“Dean…” Sam gave him an awkward smile. “A little help here? Could you get me the med kit?” 

 

Dean snorted, but complied when Sam flashed him a bitchface. He returned a couple minute later, putting it down on the table next to Sam. With a glance, he also put down an angel blade. Sam didn’t have to ask for an explanation. ‘ _ Just in case’ _

 

“I’ll...uhh… leave you to it then. Call us if you need anything.”

 

“Hey Gabe,” Sam started as Dean left the room, trying to find the best wait to treat his wounds around his arm. “I’m not going anywhere, I’m gunna patch you up, you can let go.” But Gabriel’s hand didn’t loosen, so Sam had to work around him. 

 

He began by cleaning the blood from Gabriel’s face so he could see where the cuts were. With all the blood and dirt covering him, it was hard to tell where it ended and his skin began. To Gabriel’s credit, he didn’t flinch, even when Sam found cuts under the blood. 

 

The pile of dirty gauze on the table grew larger and larger by the moment, but finally Gabriel’s face and neck were clean, and Sam could access the damage fully. It was worse than he’d originally thought. 

 

Whoever made these cuts had know what they were doing, they were both ragged and deep, with some kind of material rubbed into the wounds. Sam did his best to be gentle as he cleaned them out. It must have been excruciating, but Gabriel didn’t make sound, just stared through him. 

 

When all the cuts were cleaned, Sam threaded a needle and began to stitch them closed. He wasn’t a plastic surgeon, but thanks to years of experience sewing both himself and Dean up, his stitches were pretty damn good. Because of the severity of the wounds, Sam doubted it mattered; unless Gabriel allowed Cas to heal him, or did it himself, they would scar hideously. 

 

That only left his lips. 

 

Sam wanted to throw up every time he looked at them, those cruel, deliberate stitches. It wasn’t even the stitches themselves that made bile rise up in his throat. It was the message behind them. Whoever had done this to him had not only stripped Gabriel of his freedom, but they had stripped him of who he was, his voice. 

 

Aside from his eyes, Gabriel’s voice was always the first  thing Sam remember about him, the teasing tone and timbre of it, his laugh, Sam’s name on his tongue. They had taken it all. 

 

Hesitantly, he reached for the angel blade. If anything could cut the thread, it would be that. 

 

“Gabe?” he said. “I’m… I’m going to cut these. It’s going to hurt… I’m sorry,” he gulped, his hand shaking a little. He’d stitched and treated dozens of Dean’s wounds, but there was nothing that had prepared him for this. “If it’s too bad, tap me and I’ll stop.” 

 

Gabriel made no movement, other than his hand clenching tighter in Sam’s shirt. Sam took that as an okay, and slowly, he began to cut. 

 

They didn’t cut easily, and Sam held his breath as he sawed away at them, as gently as he could. He expected Gabriel to make some sort of noise, a grunt, something, anything based on the pain, but he was silent. Sam could feel sweat beading on his skin as he tried to keep his hands from shaking as he finished. 

 

He fought with the rising nauseous feeling in his gut as he began to gingerly remove the thread that had kept Gabriel’s lips together. They came out easily enough, but the bloody, puckered holes they left in Gabriel’s skin were almost worse than the cutting itself. 

 

Sam cleaned the holes as best he could and slathered them in ointment, more to keep himself busy than anything else. He felt increasingly helpless as he looked at Gabriel, remembering him in all his former glory. They’d left him as a shell, and Sam wondered if he would ever come back. 

 

With his face and lips taken care of, Sam moved to the rest of his body. The white robe he was wearing was dirty, but he didn’t seem to be bleeding under it, so Sam decided a shower might be the best option. He helped Gabriel up from the table, and down the hall towards one of the Bunker’s many bathrooms. 

 

“I’m gunna run a hot shower for you,” Sam told him. “That’ll be nice, right? You just gotta let go.” 

 

Gabriel’s grip got tighter and Sam sighed. He wasn’t going to let go anytime soon, and deep inside, Sam didn’t blame him. If Hell for Gabriel was anything like it had been for Sam, he would have given anything for something real to hold onto. 

 

He settled for running a warm bath instead. 

 

Because he couldn't get Gabriel’s robe off while Gabriel was clutching his shirt, Sam settled for cutting it off. He didn’t think Gabriel would mind either way, long angelic robes weren’t really his style. He eased Gabriel into the water, and tried as hard as he could to keep his gaze at his chin. 

 

Sam could almost hear Gabriel’s voice as he washed him, lewd and teasing in his ear. 

 

‘ _ See anything you like, Sammich?’ _

 

_ ‘The last time someone gave me a bath, I got a happy ending’  _

 

_ ‘Why don’t you join me?’ _

 

He shoved the painful thought from his mind. What was in front of him was painful enough without his unrequited feelings for the angel butting in. 

 

The water was almost black by the time he finished, wrapping an extra towel around Gabriel’s form. He knew a bath wouldn’t fix everything, but it was a step in the right direction. When he had Gabriel dry and dressed in his extra clothing, he took him back to his room. 

 

Sam was left at an impasse. Gabriel would need sleep to replenish his grace, and heal himself, but he still hadn’t let go. He had two choices, he could either try and make Gabriel let go, or get into bed with him; he chose the latter. 

 

He toed off his shoes, and carefully manueverd both Gabriel and himself, fully clothed, into his bed and under his blankets. It was a tight fit and Sam put his arm around him in order to get comfortable.

 

“We’ll get whoever did this to you,” Sam whispered, more for his own benefit than Gabriel’s. He wasn’t even sure Gabriel heard him. “I’ll make them pay for this, . Lucifer too, for stabbing you. I know we weren’t the best of friends… before, but you went to bat for us when it mattered. I’m sorry… I’ll fix it, I promise.” 

 

For the first time since they brought him home, Sam felt Gabriel relax against him, settling closer to his body. 

 

Then he felt something hit his shirt….tears. Gabriel was crying, and Sam heard three words fall from his cracked lips. 

 

“Thank you, Sam”

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I couldn't leave it like that, guys. My bby has to be saved.


End file.
